Judge throws out lawsuit against Marlboro football coach

The lawsuit filed against Marlboro football coach Rich Ward was thrown of out of court on Monday by a federal judge in Albany.

JUSTIN RODRIGUEZ

The lawsuit filed against Marlboro football coach Rich Ward was thrown out of court on Monday by a federal judge in Albany.

The lawsuit accused Ward of physically abusing players and making a racist comment about another.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in early December by plaintiffs Al and Kerstin Votta, on behalf of their sons Justin and Ralph, and four other former players – Dylan West, Dominic Santora, Jimmy Farrett and Thomas Corcoran III.

Named as co-defendants in the lawsuit were Marlboro Superintendent Ray Castellani as well as the Marlboro School District.

Castellani confirmed the case against Ward and the district was dismissed by Federal Judge Thomas McAvoy.

“This is something we fully expected,” Castellani said. “The district has gone through a number of internal and external investigations regarding the matter and the claims were unfounded.”

Ward, 40-5 in four seasons at Marlboro, declined to comment.

Attorney Michael Sussman, who represented the plaintiffs, said they will have 21 days to decide if they will re-file the lawsuit or file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals.

“I'm not going to speculate, but I think one of those two courses will be used,” Sussman said. “The judge ruled that the complaint was not brutal enough to be a violation and that some of coach Ward's behavior was, in his opinion, not relevant to the case. That is interesting, to say the least. Coach Ward has hardly been exonerated for his brutish behavior. We could amend the complaint to meet the standards of the constitution.”

The Albany law firm Lemire, Johnson and Higgins, which represented Ward and the Marlboro district, filed a motion in January in federal court in Albany to have the lawsuit dismissed.

The suit sought compensatory and punitive damages against Ward and Castellani and to have Ward fired as head coach.

According to Tim Higgins, one of the lawyers who represented Ward and the district, McAvoy dismissed the case because “he found nothing that coach Ward or superintendent Castellani did that rose to the high threshold of a constitutional violation.”

“We think this is entirely appropriate and agree with judge McAvoy,” Higgins said. “The bar is set very high when it comes to a constitutional violation. The judge said specifically that the allegations of cruelty and racism made by the plaintiffs were not directed against them and didn't match what really happened.”

The suit cited Ward for eight specific allegations of physical abuse and several accounts of verbal abuse, including grabbing the facemasks of some players, and berating them with expletives and profanity.

He was also accused of making a racist comment in 2010 about former Marlboro running back T.J. Henderson, who is black, and instructing players to injure stars on opposing teams, including New Paltz running back Khariff LaBoy and former Spackenkill linebacker and tight end Josh Riley, during the 2011 and 2012 seasons by twisting and breaking fingers and targeting knees.

“It has always been a tough call, one of those he said, she said type of things,” said Spackenkill coach Clint DeSouza. “That is how the justice system sees it and I won't make a judgment. I just hope it's not true. I respect coach Ward and his team did nothing against Josh in what were some heated games.”

Ward, who has led Marlboro to three consecutive Section 9 Class B titles and two straight state semifinal appearances, still faces another lawsuit.

Nick Rozzi, a 2011 Highland graduate, filed a suit in state Supreme Court against Ward and the Marlboro district, claiming the coach “negligently encouraged, advised and/or instructed members of the Marlboro varsity football team” to intentionally injure members of the Highland varsity football team, including Rozzi.

Playing on the defensive line, Rozzi sustained a serious right leg and knee injury after being blocked by Marlboro lineman Nick LaMela on Oct. 1, 2010. LaMela and several of his teammates on the field that day said his hit was clean with no malicious intent.

Castellani said that the district's lawyers have also filed a motion to have the Rozzi case dismissed.

“I was pretty sure the lawsuit from the former players would get tossed,” LaMela said. “Coach Ward does what every other coach does and he's effective. In my experience, he hasn't done anything wrong ever, and I hope he doesn't change his style because of this. He has taught me things I still use off the field.”

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